Leon Visser of the Stellenbosch-based company Trees Unlimited, and two friends Cameron Brand and Terry Grimbeek did precisely this on Saturday, October 4 in the indigenous forests of Nature's Valley. Trees Unlimited, a member of the International Society of Arboriculture is a professional arboriculture company, focusing on tree healthcare and keeping trees safe and attractive.
Visser said their original mission was to climb and measure the old specimen for the Champion Tree Initiative. "We had an idea there may be more to this tree than met the eye. Almost two years ago Visser ascended part of the tree to retrieve a lost throw-line belonging to climber Brand. "While up there in the light drizzling rain, I discovered what appeared to be a sizeable cavity from an ancient limb that had rotted into the trunk. At the time all I could do was squeeze in up to my shoulders, but being alone and with no backup or torch, I wisely bailed, but not without wondering what else this tree may be hiding, and vowed to myself that this tree had to be re-visited."
The caving experience
He said the three of them made some time and got their gear together to tackle this tree. "We wanted to measure its height and needed to climb it to do so. It was perfect Spring weather in the forest that day - warm, sunny and calm. We got our lines in with a bit of a fuss, using weighted throw-lines to pull our climbing lines in place. From there, we quickly ascended using rope-ascending techniques to the first anchor point about 16m up into the canopy. I made a bee-line for the hole, and to my surprise it looked like there was a deeper cavity than I expected."
Visser explained that the entry hole was tight and he had to take all his unnecessary kit off his harness, except for a camera and two-way radio. "I kicked some of the loose dead wood and accumulated debris free. In the darkness it sounded like quite a way down as the stuff tumbled to the gloomy depths below. I abseiled cautiously into the ever widening cavern, not sure what to expect. Were there animals down there? What bugs, spiders and bats may be lurking? I was completely amazed that in fact this was a hollow tree of over two meters thick."
He said as he descended, there were shafts of light streaming in through some old rotten branches that had left little windows in the tree wall. After 12 meters he looked up to the now small tunnel of light above and excitedly called out to the others: "Hey, Terr! This whole tree is hollow! You and Cam must come down!"
"More debris rained down on me as Grimbeek descended, and I had to hide in a small side cavity. The only way to see further below was to use the flash of my camera, having foolishly left my headlamp behind at our camp spot."
Visser and Grimbeek then descended for a further few meters until their feet touched soil, at the bottom of the tree inside the trunk. "Cameron [Brand] sent down a line so we could measure the depth once out the cavern. Next, he abseiled down, also on his own line. Soon all three of us were standing at the bottom of the tree, wide-eyed and totally amazed at what we had just discovered - we were 15m deep in a tree!"
According to Visser they said to each other: "This is crazy! We are in the middle of an ancient yellowwood. We should have brought coffee. Next time, for sure!"
By this time, a friend, Willie Brink, arrived and they were able to communicate via two-way radio. They established that they were in fact on the ground at the base of the tree by knocking on the inside of the tree, with Brink correspondingly knocking on the outside.
The next half of the adventure
"It was time to ascend into the daylight, which proved more awkward using the climbing system we were using. This was only half the adventure. Once out in the sunlight and after a few Bar Ones and some water, we started moving up the massive trunk higher into the canopy. This proved difficult due to the scale of the tree and the complexity of its structure. Using our throw-lines and carefully advancing our climbing lines we steadily edged our way up and eventually I could stand almost at the very top."
The three of them measured the tree to be 29.85 m in height and 6.4m in girth (2m diameter) and with a crown spread of 29m. "What an amazing thing. A 800-to-1 000-year-old tree, hollow and yet fully healthy and functional. How long it will still stand is a mystery. Hopefully for many more years. Who knows what other treasures lurk in the ancient yellowwood of the indigenous forest?"
Leon Visser peering out of the cave opening. Photo: Willie Brink.
Cameron Brand (left) and Terry Grimbeek hanging high up in the yellowwood tree. Photo: Leon Visser.
ARTICLE: CHRISTO VERMAAK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST
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